R VIEW
Rooted in Excellence and Access
By Chancellor S. Jack Hu
S ince joining UC Riverside in July, I have seen firsthand what makes this university so distinctive. I have met alumni who say UCR transformed their lives, as well as students, faculty, and staff who are shaping the future of UCR. I have walked through the citrus groves and residence halls, and stepped into classrooms, research labs, and studios alive with discovery and creativity. Each experience has confirmed something powerful: UC Riverside embodies the promise of public research universities.
As you may know, UCR began not as a university but as a UC citrus experiment station established in 1907 to address real problems faced by California citrus growers. The breakthroughs made here helped growers throughout the United States. That story still defines us. UCR has always turned knowledge into progress that enhances people’s lives.
This fall, we welcomed the largest incoming class in our history. Many students are the first in their families to attend college, and they arrive on a campus that is steadily gaining national recognition. UCR has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for social mobility by U.S. News & World Report for five of the last seven years, while also rising to the top 25 public universities in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Monthly rankings. UCR proves that excellence and access are not mutually exclusive; they strengthen each other.
Whether you first walked this campus as a student in the 1950’s or became part of the UCR community more recently, one thing has never changed: the belief that knowledge should open doors, not close them.
“When more students earn degrees, entire communities benefit.”
This fall, we opened North District 2, a new residential community developed in partnership with the Riverside Community College District (RCCD), where UCR and community college students live side by side, making it easier for RCCD students to experience and transfer to UCR.
This past summer, we signed a letter of intent to expand UCR Health. We also broke ground on the SoCal OASIS™ Park — a new complex of laboratories and office spaces designed to support companies advancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The facility will serve as a hub for industry partners seeking to collaborate with the university in translating research into real-world solutions.
When more students earn degrees, entire communities benefit. When more people have access to medical care, they live healthier lives. When research and scholarship generate advances in business, new insights in the arts and humanities, innovations in education and public policy, and discoveries in engineering and the natural sciences, communities flourish and families thrive.
The transformation of a citrus experiment station into a world-class research university was not accidental. With each of our recent milestones, UCR’s deep roots in excellence and access continue to yield new possibilities. Sustaining that momentum is only possible because of alumni, donors, and friends like you — those who share our story, champion our impact, and introduce new partnerships.
Your support extends UCR’s reach and amplifies its mission, as together we grow toward an even brighter tomorrow.